Teams are calling the Buffalo Sabres about the availability of centre Dylan Cozens, and the team has found themselves in a position where anything is possible, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli wrote Tuesday in his latest Trade Targets piece.
Cozens came in at No. 5 on Seravalli’s list, with the insider saying “no player in Buffalo has received more trade attention this season than” he has.
Servalli’s colleague at Daily Faceoff, Matt Larkin, dove into some potential landing spots for Cozens that included the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks.
Here’s some of what he wrote about why the Flames and Canucks are potential options:
Calgary FlamesAt the NHL level and in their prospect pipeline, the Flames have a dearth of right-handed centers. They’re also competitive sooner than they probably expected to be after GM Craig Conroy (wisely) sold off so many core pieces over the past year and a half. If they’re no longer bad enough that they can compete for a Draft Lottery win, should they take their first steps toward accelerating their rebuild? They still have many more years of Mackenzie Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri under contract, not to mention Blake Coleman and Yegor Sharangovich, so perhaps they should add a forward in his true prime to lineup that isn’t bad enough to tank fully anyway.Vancouver CanucksIf you want blockbusters, baby, you hope for this trade. We know the Canucks have reached a boiling point between top two centers Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller. Pettersson has no restrictions on his contract and cannot control his fate. Miller has a full no-movement clause. So if one has to go, it’s likely Pettersson, as outlined on Seravalli’s new Trade Targets board. Cozens, meanwhile, is a Whitehorse, Yukon native and the Canucks would represent the market closest to his hometown. It’s not too difficult to dream up a trade package sending him and British Columbia born defenseman Bowen Byram to the Canucks in a package for Pettersson.
Other news…
- New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe took ownership for hits that have landed him in hot water on Wednesday, admitting he was a “marked man.” With his eight-game suspension for a hit on Dallas Stars defenceman Miro Heiskanen, Rempe spoke with reporters, saying he knows he has to be more careful. “I’ve got to still play my game, but it can’t happen again or it is going to be a huge suspension. I’ve got to be a lot smarter. I don’t have to make every hit, if that makes sense.”
- The Minnesota Wild have recalled defenceman David Jiricek from the AHL, the club announced Wednesday. Acquired by the Wild in late November from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Jiricek has been acclimating to the Wild ranks with their AHL affiliate Iowa Wild, scoring two assists in 11 games so far this season.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, and senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
